Fan and pump drive for engine cooling



Aug. 19, 1952 l.; LEE, 2,507,327

FAN AND PUMP DRIVE FOR ENGINE: cooLING' Filed Feb. 5. 1949 a woe/WM LEJGHTON LEE; .ZZ

Patented Aug. 19, 1952 FAN AND PUMP DRIVE Fon ENGINE- ,:r-oooLING., f

Leighton Lee, 11,' Becky Hill, Conn, Application February 5, 1949,Serial No. 74,807

6 Claims.

cooling systems for internal combustion'V engines and, more particularly, to a novel and improved mechanism for driving the fan andA coolant pump normally utilized in connection with liquid cooled engines of the types employed in automotive vehicles. l

In conventional liquid cooling systems employed with the internal combustion engines of automotive vehicles, a liquid coolant, usually water, is continuously circulated or cycled through therengine block and a heat interchanger or radiator. The heat interchangeror radiator is disposed so that it will be in thepath of an airstream created when the vehicle is in motion, whichairstream on passing through the interchanger-or radiator` absorbs heaty from the coolant. To create a positive flow of air through the radiator, which is particularly necessary when the vehicle isv stationary or moving at slow speeds, a fan is provided adjacent the radiator and arranged to be continuously driven by the engine. Circulation of the liquid coolant through the cooling system is effected by a'uid pump likewise arranged` to be` continuously driven by the engine.y Y f For simplicity of construction and installation, the pump rotorand fan may be rmounted in coaxial alignment on a single shaft which is arranged to be driven by a 4belt and pulleys from the engine crankshaft. The present invention is particularly applicable to this type of arrangement of the pump andfan. A

1 In accordance with the invention,'1 have ob servedv that, although conventional automotive cooling systems are provided with a direct 1nvariable drive between the engine and the fan and pump, there is no direct relationship between the speed of the engine and the required speed of the pump and fan. For example, when the driven speed of the pump and fan in relationship to Ythe speed of the engine is such that adequate cooling is eiected at low engine speeds, then the speed of operation ofthe fan and pump becomes excessive at higher engine speeds. This results in ineciency because it not only wastes power at higher engine speeds which rendersY the automotive vehicle more costly to operate, but it also decreases the total power output of the engine which is available for driving the vehicle, thus adversely aiecting ,acceleration and top speed performance ofthe vehicle'.

I have also observed that the use of a direct invariable drive between the engine and thefan and pump has led to inefficient designing of the (Cl. 12S-41.11)

2 cooling system.v For example, ythere-is a practical limit l tof the speed at which'the pump r and fan may be driven inasmuch as high speed operation undesirably increases wear, Vvibration and noise as well as requires heavier and stronger construction of the fan and pump. Accordingly, in order to limit the maximum speed of the fan and pump, ithas been-necessary alsofto limit their speed vof operation vat low :engine speeds. This has necessitated the usegof radiators and fans and pumps which have a larger size or capacity than would be otherwise necessary if `the cooling system were operated more efciently at low engine speeds, i. e.-, at a higher pump and fan speed in relationship to engine speed. InA general, most cooling.`V systems yfor automotive` engines -are a. compromise between the .disadvantages at vlow engine speeds of` a low driveratio between the engine and the pump andV fan and the disadvantages at high engine speeds of a high drive ratio between the engine and the pump and fan. 1 f

I have also observed, in accordancewith lthe invention, that, when the automotive vehicle is driven, in which case the fanR. P; M. is ,less than the free wheeling R: P. M. for the air. ow created at that speed, the flowof air through the radiator and thej fan has a driving-effect upon the fan. Asfthe speed of `the'gvehicle increases, of course, the flow of. air increases and thus the torque `exertedupon the fanv by fthe ow o'f'fair also increases. In conventionalinstallatio'ns,V however, because vthe speedof the fanis increased by the engine in'proportion vto vehicle speed, and always exceeds the free wheeling. speed of the fan forsuch resulting'lairiflow, thistorquey serves. no useful purpose except to lessen the torque requiredto be 'supplied' by the engine to drive the fan. lt has Vbeen proposed heretofore to disconnect the fanfrom the engine when the speed of the engine exceeds somep'redetermined value. However, such systems have not met with commercial successibecause they do not effect as" great a saving` in' powerfconsumption as expected when the vvehicle isV driven at high speeds probablybecause the power lrequiredto drive the fan even at excessive speeds isereailvdminished inA View .of thetorque exert'- ed ,byr the flow 'of air. n Furthermore; .suchl systems are dangerous because vthey do not provide for operation ofY the `fan vwhen ,the vehicle is stopped and the motor is raced or Vwhenthe vehicle ,istraveling at low speed in,a lowgear with consequent high ,speed of the,y engin glls'o, suchsystemsdonot'aiect in anyway h' conthe maximum speed of the fan so that torque provided by the air flow will bejavailable `to drive the pump not only to take some of the load,v .1.5

of the engine but also, when the speed of the vehicle is sufficient, to drive the pump'witho'ut any assistance whatsoever from the `-er igine,vtlf1usV effecting a very great saving in powerconsump-I tion when the vehicle is driven at highspeeds.

Another object is to attain the foregoing objects ina/mechanism which is simple and Ycompact and which can be economically and .easily produced at a cost suiciently low to be practical and yet which will 'be rugged in construction so that-it can be used over long periods of time :and under hard-usage without the `need .for frequent repair or 'replacement.

Another object is to provide such Ya 'mechanism which'can be so designed that it may beusedfas a replacement unit for the conventional fanmount and driven pulley of automotive'vehicles now on the market whereby installation of my improved mechanism is facilitated withoutlthe need forremodeling or discarding of the remaining parts Vof-the coolingsystem.

Other objects rwill be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements andlarrangement of parts which will be exemplified'in the construction hereafter set forth :and the scope of the application of which willbe indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings- V Figure 1 isa fragmentary side view,'partially in 'cross section, showing afan .andzwaterpump assembly provided with anoveltdriving mechanism embodying myinvention; and

Fig. 2 is 'a cross sectional View taken along the line 2-`2Iof Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shownin Fig. 1 a. Water pump I0 of conventional 'design for use in an automotive vvehicle engine cooling Vsystem. The water pump Ill'is providedwith abase plate I I adapted to be mounted-on Yan engine block indicated diagrammatically bythedot and dash line 9 and a housing I2 forming-a pump chamber I3 and an outlet portion I4. As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the v.pump chamber I3 is adapted to be connected for communication with the fluid passageways of the engine block while the outlet portion I4 is adapted tobe connected for communication to the top of the radiator indicated diagrammatically by the dotV and dash line f8. A pump rotor or impeller I5-is mounted for rotation in the chamber I3 and is adapted to be driven by the shaft I6 to which it is affixed, which shaft is rotatably supported or journaled'in an anti-friction bearing II carried by the nose portion I9 of thehousing I2. Sealing material I 8 is provided'to prevent the escape'of water from the pump along the shaft I6.

Attached to thefront en'd of the shaft I6 is an embodiment of the improved fan mounting and drive `mechanism '20 'of 'the present invention. Themechanism includes atthe"forward'end'a 4 generally cup shaped member 2| adapted to partially surround the nose portion I9 of the pump housing I2 and formed with a central opening 22 arranged to receive the shaft I6. The member 2I is adapted to be fixed to the shaft I6 as by a press t at the opening 22.

The cup shaped member 2l is provided in its forward end with a series of tapped holes 23v to .permit the fan blades 24 of a conventional fan -assembly to be secured thereto as by bolts 25. As is customary, the fan blades 24 are disposed `immediately behind the radiator 8.

i p The-cup-shaped member 2I is provided in its 28 of an anti-friction bearing 29. Anti-friction -bearing 29 can be of any suitable design and is shown in the specific embodiment as comprising the aforesaid inner race 28, an outer race 30, a series of balls 3I and bearing seals 32.

The outer race 30 is fixed to a .specially 1designed pulley 33 which in addition to havingza conventional groove 34 in its outer edge adapted to .receive a standard automotive fan .belt 35, ,is provided with a relatively wide central v.opening defined by the flange 36 which :ilangefextends into the recess 26 of cup member 2II :and finto whichis press fit the outer race l3l). A n

VAs thus far described, it will be seen'thatthe fan Vand pump rotor are `fixed to the shaft L6 and must be rotatedin unison while theY pulley -33 is freely rotatable relative to the fan and'pump by reason of its mounting :on the anti-friction bearing 2-9. A f

'In accordance v.with the invention, vmeans .is provided for engaging, disengaging, -orslippingly engagingtheipulley 33 and the cup shaped'member2I responsive `to lthe speed Aof rotation-.of the cup shaped memberZI. In the specific embodiment, this means comprises a1 plurality of arcuate lever arms 40 which are pivotally mounted atone end on the cup shaped member 2l as by means of ,pins 4I vso that vtheymay pivot inwardlysand outwardly in the plane of rotation of the member 2I within the confines of the `annular groove 26. Inwardpivoting of the lever arms 40is causediby spring members "42 whichare riveted at one rend to th'e'free ends of the lever arms 40 and which at'theother endbear against the outer rim 3110i the cup vshaped member 2|. YWhen the arms nil!) are pressed inwardly 'by the spring vmembers 142, they frictionally engage the outer wallf38 ofthe flange 36 which frictional engagement is 1increased by p-ads 43 `composed of suitable friction or'brake material.

When the cupshaped memberZI is rotatedfthe arms-40, of course, rotate therewith andare thus subjected to a centrifugal force tending to pivot them outwardlyfrom engagement with the wall -38against the action vof the spring members-42. Asexplained more fully hereinafter, Vthe arms- 40 and the spring members42 are designed sothat, at moderate speeds oferotationof thememberll, the forceexerted by the springs will`be Vsu'fointly greater than the centrifugal forcesothat there will be no slippage between member2 I .-.an'd pulley 33 creatingin effect a direct 'drive between the engine and the pump .and1'fan, so thatat an' intermediate speed range'the centrifugal force will Vbe suiiicient to `cause slippage increasing in amount as the speed increases and'sothat above this range the centrifugalforce `entirely Novercomes the force of the spring members-42 tacom-` 'letly disengage the pulley -33 from the-memer v When installed in an automotive vehicle, the improved andnovel fan and pump 'drive of my invention can be arrangedto provide a direct drive between the engine and pump and fan until the vehicle reachesr a predetermined velocity of, for example, about 40 to45 miles per hour corresponding, also by way of example, to a pump shaft speed of 2000 R. P. M. Then, as the vehicle speeds up beyond this point, slippage between the pulley 33 and member 2lr begins to occur with the result that the speed of the fan and pump remains substantially constant at about 20003,. P. M. even though the pulley 33-continues to yspeed up directly with the engine. The effect is that a decreasing amount andv proportionof torque is transmitted from the,L engine to the fan and pump just suiiicient tov maintain the shaft speed at the exemplary valuefofY 2000 R. P. M. Eventually, as for example, at a vehicle speed in the neighborhood of about 60 M. P. H., the engine is completely disengaged from the pump and fan and the fan now energized solely by the flow of air created by the movement of the vehicle is able to drive the pump alone. Thereafter, as the vehicle speed further increases, there may be an adidtional but slight increase in the speed of the fan and pump all without any torque transmitted from the engine.

As a result of this operation of the fan and pump drive of my invention, a very substantial saving can be made in the power required to operate the vehicle at high speeds, all without adversely affecting the desired functioning of the fan and pump, and with the further advantage of limiting the maximum speed which the pump and fan will attain. Depending on the design of the cooling system, this savingv may be as much as l0 to 20% at speeds in the neighborhood of 60 M. P. H. or better.

It also is possible with the use of my improved fan and pump drive to use a higher ratio of pump and fan speed to engine speed when the engine is directly driving the fan and pump. This permits the use of smaller fans, pumps and/or radiators with consequent saving in cost and space. Y

It also will be noted that my improved fan and pump drive is substantially the same size as the conventional fan mounting and pulley frequently employed on pump shafts, it may be secured to the shaft in the same way, and it will mount a conventional fan blade assembly. It thus is a complete interchangeable unit which requires no additional space and may be installed without any design change to the pump, pump shaft, fan or fan belt.

The device of my invention is a balanced unit of simple but rugged construction so that it will stand up under hard usage, it may be easily manufactured at low cost, and it is foolproof in operation.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention: Y.- l

1. In a vehicle engine cooling system,'the combination comprising afiuid pumphaving arotatable impeller, a shaft `'for driving saidjmpeller, a fan permanently fixed to said shaft forrotation therewith and Ydisposed in thev path of` a flow of air created when the vehicle is in motion, -apulley adapted to be driven by lthe `engine and rotatably mounted on the shaft, clutch means for engaging `and,.disenga'ging the pulleyv and the shaft,qand means responsive to the speed of, rotation of the fan for engaging the clutch below a predetermined fan speed whereby the engine will drive the fan Land pump and for disengaging the clutch above a predeterminedjfan speed whereby th pumpwill be driven solely bythe fan. I

. -Inavehicle Aengine cooling system, the-combination y comprising a vfluid pump, a ,shaft f for driving said pump, a fan permanently fixed to said shaft for rotation therewith and disposed in the path of a flow of air created when the vehicle is in motion, a pulley .arranged to be driven by the vehicle engine and mounted for rotation about the shaft, means in-cluding a clutch for selectively disengaging, engaging and slippingly engaging the pulley and the shaft, and centrifugal means rotated by the shaft for engaging the clutch at a lower speed range of the fan and shaft whereby the engine will drive the fan and pump,

for slippingly engaging the clutch at an inter-V m-ediate speed range of the fan .and shaft whereby the engine will partially drive the fan and pump, and for disengaging the clutch at a higher speed range whereby the shaft will rotate free of the pulley and the pump will be driven solely by the fan.

3. In a vehicle engine cooling system, the combination comprising a fluid pump, a shaft for driving said pump, a member fixed `t-o the shaft, a fan fixed to said member yand disposed in the paJth of a flow lof air .created when the vehicle is in motion, a pulley freely mounted on the member and having an annular shoulder, an arm pivotally mounted on said member for pivoting movement in the plane of rotation of the member, said arm being adapted to be urged outwa-rdly by centrifugal force when said member is rota-ted and adapted, when pivoted inwardly, to frictionally engage said shoulder, and spring means urging said arm inwardly.

4. In a vehicle engine cooling system having a iiuid pump, a shaft for driving said pump, and a fan .permanently fixed to the shaft for rotation therewith and disposed in the path of a flow of air created when the vehicle is in motion, the combination of a driving element for said shaft comprising a member fixed to the shaft for rotation therewith, a pulley adapted to be driven by the vehicle engine freely mounted on the member, a clutch operative between the pulley and the said member, and centrifugal means carried by the said member .fo-r operating the clutch responsive to the speed of said fan whereby the pulley is disengaged at high fan speeds and engaged at 10W fan speeds.

5. A pump and fan drive mechanism for use in a vehicle engine cooling system of the type having a pump and a pump shaft to which is adapted to be attached a pulley and fan, comprising a cup shaped member adapted to be fixed to the shaft having means for the attachment of a fan to the exterior thereof, a pulley having an annular flange rotatably mounted interiorly of said cup member, a pivoted arm carried by said cup member adapted to frictonally engage said pulley la lvehcle engnexco'oling system-of the' type having `a.,pump and Aa pumpshaft adapted tol-have fa 4pulley and fan Lattache'd thereto, :comprising Va 'member adaptedto form a. supportffor a'fanand having a vhub adapted to be `xed-to the shaft, said lmember having A'an annular ,recess 4on `one iendcoaxial with and extendingaroun'cl said hub, La pulley `having an annularfiange rotatablysup- 'ported on lsaid lhulo Withinsaid recess, ya plurality L of arms pivotally mounted in said vrecessv for pivciting movement in the plane fof rotatiomofl the 'member .and adapted 'wheniipivoted 'inwardly to ifretionall'y engage 4said flange, .said membersb- Ting .adapted to be 'urged -Ioutwardly byentrifugall force when the member is rotated,.and lspring v`means urging the-.arms inwardly.

LEIGHTON LEE, rII.

'REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ile of this patent:

UNITED ySTATES PATENTS 1,882,726 Newcembe- -/Nov.`1'7,5193.1 32,045,870 Paton June 30, 1936 2,'4'38,'1'6'1* Greenlee Mar. 23,1948 `A2,452,650 Greenlee Nov. 2, 1948 12,506,520

Spase May .2, 1950 

